Theoderic the Great was the ruler of the Ostrogoths in the period of time immediately succeeding the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD. He was king of the Ostrogoths (471-526), and specifically held Italy starting in 493 AD.
In an attempt to appear Roman, and thus more easily govern the nation and its native, recent ex-Romans, Theoderic adopted the form of the Roman ruler, even taking a Roman name, Flavius Theodericus, which tied him in name to the wildly successful Flavian dynasty, and its founder Vespasian.